o  a  ^  . 


»  >  > 


o  ^ 


o  o  * 

>  J  ' 


•)  >o 


/» 

s  ^ 


•5  ♦’ 

D  J  ■*» 


O' 


^■^%'•  0D*>» 

Coin’’  of  an  Article  hy  >  ,V 
■;  ’.rt  ;.v  r,  f-.l  .',' 


5  o  I* 


T.  WHARTON  COLLENS, 


Of  New  Orleaxs. 


Ix  Labor  Staxdard  of  Bostox,  Mass. 


For  further  exposition  see  ^^Edex  of  Labor*’  by  the  same  Author. 


Forty  years  ago,  when  the  unemployed 
workmen  of  Lyons  marched  through  the 
streets  under  a  banner  on  which  was  in¬ 
scribed  the  motto . . . .  Vivre  en  travaillant 
ou  mourir  en  combatt(inf.^\  . . .  (Toiling  to 
live  or  fighting  unto  death),  a  thrill  of  in¬ 
dignation  and  affright  ran  through  the 
nerves  of  the  world.  The  world  was  as¬ 
tonished  at  the  announcement  which  the 
inscription  implied,  that  labor  was  a  right. 
That  it  was  the  poor  man’s  duty,  every 
votary  of  Plutus  affirmed;  but  that  the 
duty  implied  the  right,  while  also  the  duty 
and  the  right  implied  that  there  should  be 
some  form  and  method  of  carrying  them 
into  effect,  w’ere  ideas  few  minds  had  con¬ 
ceived.  The  world  should  have  known, 
that  both  Christianity  and  Philosophy 
sanctioned  the  proletarian’s  honest  demand 
for  work  and  life.  ^Tn  the  sweat  of  thy 
face  thou  shalt  live,”  is  the  sentence  God 
pronounced  on  the  man  going  out  of  Eden. 
No  one  is  exempted.  Ceuturies'^ago,  St. 
Paul  said,  and  after  him  every  theologian 


and  moralist  teaches,  that  he  who  will  not 
work  should  not  eat  It  follows,  that  he 
who  will  work  haS'-a  right  to  have  work 
and  earn  a  living.  Else  death  by  starvation 
would  not  be  inflicted  only  on  unwilling¬ 
ness  to  labor,  but  might  also  be  suffered 
by  willingness.  There  would  be  no  dis¬ 
tinct  penalty  inflicted  on  voluntary  idle¬ 
ness  as  the  precept  implies.  It  would  be 
a  vain  fulmination.  The  innocent  and  the 
guilty  would  be  condemned  indiscrimin¬ 
ately.  Hence,  the  willing  man,  if  indivi¬ 
duals  do  not  give  him  work  at  living 
wages,  may  summon  society  to  provide  it. 
He  could  not  have  been  deprived  of  it  but 
by  some  error  or  offence  imputable  to  so¬ 
ciety  itself. 

But,  it  was  the  other  branch  of  the 
motto  the  world  disliked  the  most;  for, 
instead  of  appealing  to  the  ballot,  it 
threatened  arms  and  battle  to  enforce  the 
right  to  labor  and  live.  In  this,  under 
the  circumstances,  the  world  was  not 
wrong ;  for  the  right  of  suffrage  had  been 
secured  and  was  enjoyed  in  France. 


pZGZ‘^‘^ 


2 


The  (Tight  to  Labor  and  Live. 


Where  universal  suffrage  is  established 
by  the  constitution,  a  resort  to  arms  to 
force  a  political  or  social  change,  can  only 
be  excused  on  the  ground  of  extreme  wron.ir 
and  immediate  necessity 
when  every  door 
closed,  force  should 
an  almost  unanimous  coise»u  aiij 
probability  of  early  success.*  OA^nvisi* 
civil  war  would  arise .  Thgiiy  }:y’J?i,v-il  < ■ 

the  ruin  and  distress  would  ‘be ‘•fnilffn; 
greater  than  before  j  and,  as  it  generally 
happens,  corruption  and  usurpation  would 
follow. 

Not  only  is  the  right  of  earning  a  living 
by  labor  recognized  by  religion  and  phil¬ 
osophy  )  but  governments  have  always, 
though  reluctantly  and  stintedly  acknow¬ 
ledged  it.  Rome  really  did  so  when,  un¬ 
able  to  furnish  work  to  her  proletarians, 
she  satisfied  their  cry  for  bread  and  the 
circus.  England  confessed  it  as  the  ground 
of  her  jealous  and  hypocritical  poor  laws. 
The  assize  of  bread,  in  France,  is  one  of 
the  modes  in  which  the  State  gives  effect 
to  this  right.  The  price  of  broad  is  fixed 
by  law  below  the  purchasing  power  of 
workmen’s  wages ;  and  when  the  market 
price  of  flour  is  so  high  that  the  baker 
would  lose  by  selling  at  that  price,  the 
government  indemnifies  him:  pays  liim  the 
difference  out  of  the  public  treasury.  So, 
almost  every  government,  in  some  form 
or  other,  concedes  the  right  of  tlie  poor  to 
labor  and  live,  and  the  obligation  of  so¬ 


wotild  be  checked  and  defeated j  over-pro¬ 
duction  would  be  occasioned;  and  a  ruin¬ 
ous  competition  of  overflowing  markets 
induced.  From  their  point  of  view,  this  is 
a  correct  statement  of  wliat 
the  effect  on  their  interests,  if 
e  labor  always  had  full  employ- 
,^»ont  fcind  reward.  They  know  that  if  iu- 
(Jc^oVapitly  of  them,  the  toilers  could  ])ro- 
eiu-e  the  necessary  soil,  machinerv  and 
'ances,  a  consequent  equitable  state  of 
industry  would  follow,  and  the  death  blow 
of  exceptional  riches  would  be  struck. 
Gain-gotten  capital  would  cease  to  make 
more  gain ;  usury  would  find  her  occupa¬ 
tion  gone,  and  her  treasures  sunk  to  par; 
and  labor  would  have  its  own.  Hence 
when  the  inexorable  master-appropriators 
discharge  their  wagemen — refuse  work  and 
wages  to  great  numbers — drive  men  to  be¬ 
come  tramps,  vagrants  and  beggars,  they, 
at  the  same  time,  furiously  and  unceasing¬ 
ly  oppose  and  strive  to  thwart  any  at¬ 
tempt  government  or  society  may  make  to 
enable  the  unemploj’ed  not  only  to  work, 
but  to  organize  their  work  so  as  to  pro¬ 
duce  all  needed  subsistence  and  comforts 
without  being  dependent  on  the  option  or 
interests  of  profit-seeking  enterprisers. 

In  order  to  hinder  the  starving  poor 
whom  they  do  not  employ  in  tlieir  shops, 
factories  and  fields  from  doing  productive 
work,  the  stern  and  cynical  masters  put 
on  the  mask  of  charily,  and  under  pretence 
of  relieving  distress,  and  giving  effect  to 


ciety  to  insure  them  against  any  depriva-  the  right  of  living  by  labor,  have  founded 


tion  of  this  right. 

The  political  economists  and  legislators 
of  England  (copied  by  those  of  the  United 
States)  imagine  that  if  society,  in  good  faith 
and  without  opprcsdon,  were  to  find  work 
for  every  man  claiming  it  to  earn  a  living, 
the  course  of  trade  would  be  deranged; 
investments  of  capital  would  be  rendered 


that  so-called  philanthropic  but  really  in¬ 
human  institution  known  as  the  WORIC 
HOUSE.  From  it  thev,  with,  insidious  de- 
sign,  banish  not  only  every  comfort  and 
adectuate  subsistence,  but  also  remuner¬ 
ative  and  judicious  work.  Those  who  are 
compelled  to  become  its  inmates  are 
treated  as  criminals.  No  distinction  is 


precarious  and  unprofitable;  entor])rise  allowed  there  between  the  able-bodied  who 


The  Tight  to  Labor  avid  Live. 


3 


Cc. 

T> 


are  Avilling  to  work  but  cannot  find  em- 
])loym8nk  and  the  able-bodied  who  be- 
c.iuse  thev  will  not  work,  have  been  com- 
initted  for  vagrancy.  The  work  the  in¬ 
mates  are  set  to  is  always  of  a  fruitless 
nature.  No  wages  are  paid  for  it.  The 
food  furnished  is  purposely  insufficient  aiuj. 
repulsive.  The  living  room  is  construct^J” 

I’  ’ 

on  so  narrow  a  scale  as  to  be  over  crowded 
when  occupied  Ijy  tiie  average  luinibe^*  pf,. 
refugees  and  vagrants.  Husband^  wife, 
and  child  are  not  allowed  to  live  togeth^iv 
while  in  the  establishment.  In  short, 
every  means,  except  direct  and  forcible 
expulsion,  are  cunningly  applied  to  drive 
the  refugees  away. 

Now,  Social  Economy,  not  Political 
Economy,  having  regard  to  these  facts, 
and  acting  under  the  influence  of  God  and 
Neighbor-Love  which  makes  her  science, 
proposes  an  honest  compliance  with  the 
demand  of  every  toiler  who  asks  to  live  by 
his  labor.  She  intends  that  productive 
and  remunerative  work  for  every  ahle- 
bodied  man  sliall  be  provided ;  that  there 
shall  be  no  competition  between  the  toilers 
to  procure  employment ;  that  the  oligarchs 
of  ?d  aim  non  who  now  possess  the  power 
of  deciding  who  shall  and  who  shall  not 
have  work  and  wages,  and  what  shall  be 
the  kind  and  amount  of  that  work,  and 
the  rate  of  those  wages,  shall  lose  this 
egregious  mastery;  that  tlmre  shall  be  no 
ci't  downs,  no  lockouts,  no  strikes,  no 
tramps,  no  under.production  and  under- 
consum])tion,  no  long  hours  and  short 
wages;  but  ihat  reasonable  toil  shall  ob¬ 
tain,  universally,  its  just  and  abundant 
reward. 

^tanv  are  the  nu'asures  which  Social 

V 

Economy  may  Take  to  (airry  out  this  in¬ 
tention,  but  tlieri'  is  one  of  them  to  which 
to-day  I  would  diri'ct  the  reader’s  sjiccial 
attention.  It  is  conceived  for  the  ])urpose 
(1  of  procuring  and  securing  biliov  and 


living  for  the  presently  unemployed;  and 
(2),  of  saving  the  toilers  from  the  necessi¬ 
ty  of  competing  with  each  other  for  work 
and  wuages.  Put  into  practice,  it  would 
compel  the  master-enterprisers  to  pay  full 
wages ;  and,  if  they  cannot  afford  adequate 
eaTupel  them  to  give  up  their  busi- 
mess^  wj^.hput  in  the  least  distressing  the 
Jaborers.  they  c»^ase  to  employ. 

;  'rj?q  mighty  instrument  by  which  this 
rp,sulti^cquld  J^e  effected,  is  the  POLYTECH- 

Before  I  describe  it,  I  should  mention 
that  though  it  might  be  instituted  by  pri¬ 
vate  associated  effort,  I  propose  that  the 
first  one  be  organized  and  set  to  work  by 
society  itself. 

A  Polytechnic  Towmship  is  a  voluntary 
association  of  men  of  many  and  various 
productive  industries,  to  the  end  that  all 
might  have  sure  wmrk  and  an  abundant 
living  from  that  work.  It  has  several 
essential  and  distinctive  characteristics. 

1.  The  kind  of  industries  the  township 
engages  in,  are  only  such  as  are  proper 
for  the  production  of  all  things  necessary 
and  commodious.  It  carries  on  no  work 
or  trade  in  sumptuous,  luxurious,  or  per¬ 
nicious  things. 

2.  It  admits  members  from  each  trade 
in  such  i}YO])0)iion  to  the  w^bole  number  of 
all  trades,  that  the  production  or  service  of 
each  trade  will  be  adequate  to  the  needs  of 
all  the  members  needing  that  production 
or  service;  no  more,  no  less. 

3.  It  regulates  the  labor  of  each  trade, 
so  ihat  each  needed  article  is  produced  in 
such  quantity  as  the  towmship  should  con¬ 
sume,  without  leaving  a  surplus ;  except 
wiien  a  surplus  is  necessary  to  procure 
from  OTitside  those  things  wiiich,  from 
some  insuperable  reason,  cannot  be  pro¬ 
duced  within  the  township  itself,  for  its 
own  consunq)tion. 

4.  The  ideal  of  the  Poly  technic  Towit*' 


4 


The  Tight  to  Labor  and  Live. 


ship  is,  that  it  shall,  besides  being  self- 
supplying  be  also  self-sufficieni,  as  entirely 
as  surrounding  conditions  will  permit  and 
.as  ingenious  industry  can  make  it. 

5,.  The  products  are  distributed  among 
the  co-operatives  according  "tc''  fUe  ,iahor-. 

^  •  j*  I  ^  # 

time  of  each ;  and  they  elfeot  -^xcdTayiglsi* 

on  the  principle  of  avefag^^  dabor-fime- 

1  ^  i  i  « ‘ ^  * 

value.  .  ^ «  cc,  ;  ; ;  / 

‘  •  « 

Hence  to  provide  raw  mat^:k?als  aitul^ 
FOOD  it  has  members  who  ai’e!  plqughinen'' 
reapers,  gardeners,  dairymen,  shepherds, 
bee-tenders,  orchardists,  woodchoppers, 
miners,  butchers,  bakers,  cooks,  etc;  to 
make  clothing  it  has  spinners,  weavers, 
washers,  dyers,  tanners,  shoemakers,  hat¬ 
ters,  tailors,  milliners,  seamtresses,  etc; 
for  erecting  habitants,  and  other  build¬ 
ings  or  receptacles,  it  has  carpenters, 
joiners,  coopers,  brickmakers,  bricklayers, 
stone  cutters,  masons,  etc;  for  making  its 
own  TOOLS  and  engines,  it  has  blacksmiths, 
locksmiths,  cutlers,  foundrymen,  machin¬ 
ists,  copper  and  brass  workers,  tinners, 
wheelwrights,  mill  wrights,  cabinetmakers, 
turners,  etc;  for  EDUCATION  it  has  school¬ 
masters,  lecturers,  preachers,  and  other 
teachers,  printers,  etc;  and  all  these  are 
marshalled  in  carefully  estimated  economic 
proportions,  so  that  all  of  them  are  every 
day  productively  occupied,  and  that  the 
-Operative  of  one  trade  or  branch  may  take 
part  in  the  work  of  others,  whenever  ne~ 
oessary  or  beneficial ;  and  so  that  the  time 
and  strength  of  no  one  is  wasted  in  idle¬ 
ness. 

It  is  calculated  that  a  township  oc¬ 
cupying  an  area  six  miles  square  (say, 
23,000  acres)  should  have  and  could  main¬ 
tain  about  ten  thousand  inhabitants.  With 
this  space  and  number,  the  proportional 
grouping  and  labors  of  the  members  is 
easy  and  advantagous.  As  to  the  land,  it 
is  not  absolutely  necessary  for  it  to  be 
all  in  one  body.  It  may  be  cxpediant  to 


locate  different  industries  in  separate  si¬ 
tuations:  a  factory  here,  a  field  there,  a 
saw-mill  elsev/here.  The  essentials  are, 
that  the  inhabitants  be  associated;  that 
the  results  of  their  industry  be  equitably 
distributed  under  the  common  control: 
Jhat-they  have  their  reward  according  to 
t,he^  average  labor- time  standard  of  ‘Tro- 
:'ppCtipEalisin  f  and  that  no  drones  or  spe- 
^cnlatofs'’  gouge  profit  or  usuia'  from  their 
.'pu’o'ductions. 

But,  exclaims  the  Political  Economist, 
if  society  were  to  furnish  the  means  of 
founding  many  such  townships  (say,  one 
in  every  district),  and  the  laboring  classes 
were  to  avail  themselves  of  it  and  succeed 
in  their  enterprise,  the  effect  would  be  to 
deplete  the  labor  market,  save  the  laborers 
from  competing  with  each  other  for  em¬ 
ployment,  and  raise  the  price  of  wages. 

Yes,  tlie  Social  Economist  replies,  of 
course  that  would  be  the  result,  and  this 
i^  precisely  one  of  the  effects  it  is  intended 
the  establishment  of  Polytechnic  Town¬ 
ships  shall  have. 

But,  says  Political  Economy,  a  rise  in 
wages  would  be  ruinous  to  our  existing 
textile,  wood,  and  metal  manufactories  of 
all  kinds.  They  would  make  no  profit  on 
their  invested  capital.  They  could  not 
compete  with  other  countries  in  foreign 
markets  unless,  by  cheap  labor  at  home, 
they  are  enabled  to  offer  cheap  goods 
abroad.  They  cannot  secure  a  foreign 
trade,  unless  they  can  underbid  and  under¬ 
sell  the  world ;  and  there  is  only  one  way 
to  do  this :  it  is  to  reduce  the  cost  of  labor 
lo\ver  here  than  it  is  any  where  else,  and 
nothing  but  a  continual  glut  of  the  labor 
market  will  have  this  effect. 

True,  says  Social  Economy,  but  why 
should  we  care  for  foreign  trade,  on  such 
terms,  if  labor  (*an  be  self-supplying  and 
self  sufficient  at  home?  Let  a  few  indi¬ 
vidual  enterprisers  become  insolvent,  cease 


The  Tight  to  Labor  and  Live. 


5 


to  make  profit  on  their  capital,  if  they  can 
maintain  themselves  only  by  subjecting  a 
great  multitude  of  toilers  to  harder  and 
harder  work,  and  to  poorer  and  poorer  re¬ 
ward.  By  their  absurd  cupidity  and  com¬ 
petition  they  ruin  themselves  anyhow,  un¬ 
dersell  one  other,  alternately  overwork 
and  underwork  in  the  most  capricious 
manner,  speculate,  embezzle,  and  go  into 
bankruptcy.  Why  should  the  people  in 
general  want  that  this,  that  or  the  other 
individual  should  have  the  opportunity  to 
become  inordinately  richer  than  others? 
None  should,  and  every  one  that  tries  to 
become  so  deserves  to  be  ruined.  What 
is  desirable  is,  an  economic  order  by 
which  the  happy  prosperity  of  the  great¬ 
est  number  would  be  secured,  and  not  a 
system  of  which  the  natural  effect  is  to 
evolve  a  few  monstrous  fortunes  out  of  the 
substance  of  the  bodies  and  souls  of  their 
God-made  equals.  Yes  their  equals, 
not  only  physically  and  intellectually 
under  God  in  nature,  but  their  superiors 
morally  and  industrially  before  God  in 
society.  I  see  no  reason  why  I  should  be 
sorry  if  the  appropriators  were  reduced  to 
poverty ;  for  then,  whether  for  weal  or  for 
woe,  they  would  only  participate  in  the 
common  destiny,  from  which  they  have  no 
just  title  to  be  exempted. 

But,  says  Political  Economy,  if  Po¬ 
lytechnic  Townships  were  numerous  or 
generally  inaugurated,  rent  and  profit 
would  cease,  and  as  a  consequence  no  one 
would  borrow  money  to  carry  on  commer¬ 
cial  or  industrial  enterprises. 

Precisely,  answers  Social  Economy,  this 
is  the  effect  they  would  have. 

But  then,  argues  Political  Economy,  if 
])rofit  and  rent,  and  as  a  consequence  usury 
also,  were  to  cease,  the  masters  would 
(dose  their  factories  and  workshops,  stop 
their  entei*prises  and  im])rovements  of  all 
kinds,  discontinue  investments  which  de¬ 


velop  resources  j  and  then  the  wagemen  in 
great  hordes  would  be  thrown  out  of  em¬ 
ployment:  capitalists  would  refuse  ad¬ 
vances  to  productive  labor  of  all  kinds, 
and  hence  production  itself  would  be  ar¬ 
rested;  famine,  pestilence,  destitution  and 
riot  would  be  occasioned ;  society  itself 
would  be  dissolved ;  and  moral  chaos  and 
physical  misery  become  universal. 

No,  replies  the  Social  Economist,  for 
your  argument  presupposes  the  existence  of 
numerous  Polytechnic  Townships,  as  the 
cause  ot‘  the  cessation  of  rent,  profit  and 
usury.  The  evils  you  predict  could  not 
take  place  if  society  were  to  establish  as 
many  self-supporting  and  self-sufficient 
townships  as  (by  reason  of  the  dog  in  a 
manger  policy  of  the  masters)  might  be¬ 
come  necessary.  In  such  townships,  the 
people  would  produce  by  themselves,  and 
distribute  among  themselves  all  things  ne¬ 
cessary.  Indeed  the  master  appropriators 
would  be  glad  to  sell  out  their  establish¬ 
ment  to  newly  formed  associations  of 
toilers,  or  to  society,  for  cash,  for  annui¬ 
ties,  or  other  reasonable  indemnity;  fand 
eveiy  manufactory  so  purchased  would  be 
made  a  proportional  element  of  a  Poly¬ 
technic  Township.  Peace  and  abundance 
would  prevail  notwithstanding  the  finan¬ 
cial  catastrophe  which  would  befall  the 
masters  individually;  and  most  of  them 
would  gladly  accept  and  enjoy  the  new 
industrial  order  founded  on  Christian 
justice. 

But,  savs  the  Political  Economist,  in- 
sisting  still  on  his  views,  this  Polytechnic 
'Pownship  is  to  be  composed  of  volun¬ 
tary  members :  only  those  who  enter  it  of 
their  own  free  will  and  accord.  Hence, 
those  who  are  out  of  employment  may 
refuse  to  enter  it,  while  those  who  are  at 
work  and  earning  wages  may  quit  their 
employers  to  become  associates.  Is  not 
this  contradictory?  It  is  to  furnish  work 


6 


The  (higkt  to  Labor  and  Live, 


to  those  who  happen  to  be  idle  but  are  will¬ 
ing  to  work,  that  the  plan  of  founding 
these  Polytec-hnic  Townships  is  proposed 
to  society.  To  be  consistent  with  its 
origin,  this  contrivance  should  be  carried 
into  etfect  by  sending  only  idle  persons 
there,  and  setting  them  to  work  under 
sentence  of  the  law,  whether  they  are 
willing  or  not. 

Nay,  responds  the  Social  Economist, 
we  repel  any  imitation  whatever  of  the  in¬ 
famous  British  Workhouse.  We  refuse 
to  restrict  libertv  when  it  is  not  absolute- 
Iv  necessarv  to  do  so.  Whether  those 
who  enter  a  Polytechnic  Township  come 
out  of  the  factories  and  workshops  or  from 
among  the  unemployed  it  matters  not, 
provided  they  come  in  sufficient  number  to 
relieve  the  labor-market  and  save  the 
toilers  from  competing  with  each  other, 
and  so  change  the  solicitation  to  the  side 
of  the  masters.  If  the  employed  leave 
their  masters  to  join  the  township,  they 
would  therebv  create  vacancies  in  the  fac- 
tories  and  shops  they  leave,  and  the  un¬ 
employed  who  do  not  care  to  go  to  the 
township  would  be  engaged  to  till  their 
places.  Either  way,  the  effect  must  ])e 
the  same.  The  labor  market  would  1)0 
equalized;  and  at  the  same  time  no  one 
would  be  coerced  or  op’pressed. 

But,  says  the  Political  Ecoiioniist,  the 
tramps  and  other  idlei-s  may  not  avail 
themselves  of  the  o|)})ortui!ity,  may  prefer 
doing  nothing  but  roam  over  the  country, 
begging  and  stealing,  so  that  tin*  ihily- 
t(*chiiic 'J'ownship  would  injure  the  masters 
of  mines,  farms,  foundries,  worksh()])s  and 
factories  by  enticing  th(*ir  industrious 
operatives  away,  without  diniinisliing  ihe 
number  of  the  indolent  and  unoccni)ied. 

This,  re])lies  the  Social  Economist,  is  not 
a  valid  objection;  for  it  assumes  that  V(e 
luntary  vagrancy  would  enjoy  imiiiunity. 
()n  the  contrary,  if  men  will  beg  or  steal, 


despite  the  suffering  and  danger  of  such  con¬ 
duct,  rather  than  work,  then  the  conse- 
j  quences  declared  by  law  and  religion  should 
I  be  inexorably  laid  upon  them.  Mark  you,  1 
j  suppose  the  case  of  available  employment 
I  being  evaded.  I  have  no  charity  or  com- 
I  passion  for  wilful  idlers,  and  do  not  plead 
!  their  cause.  Social  Economv  is  their  im- 
placable  enemy.  They  should  be  forced 
to  wmrk  or  starve.  A  'workhouse  is  too 
good  for  them.  Hard  labor  in  a  peniten¬ 
tiary  is  their  due.  Bemember,  how^ever,  I 
sav  this  onlv  for  the  time  wdien  a  living 

bv  labor  shall  have  been  secured  bv  means 

%/ 

of  the  Polytechnic  Township,  recognized 
and  carried  into  effect  by  the  laws.  To 
tell  an  able-bodied  fellow,  asking  for'la- 
bor  to  go  to  '^mrk,  is  now-a-days  a  heart¬ 
less  sarcasm.  If,  ho'^^ever,  society  itself 
honestly  proffers  free  and  requited  labor 
to  all,  and  yet  some,  though  able  to  work, 
persist  in  vagrancy,  than  society  may  just¬ 
ly  punish  them.  Society  will  have  done 
its  duty  in  regard  to  them;  and  their  at¬ 
tempt  to  live  as  parasites  upon  the  labor 
of  others  would  be  inexcusable,  and 
I  indeed,  a  crime.  But  to  suppose  that 
!  there  is  a  numerous  class  of  such  people  is 
I  a  mere  fanev.  The  destitution  of  an  idle 
!  life  is  not  so  agreeable  as  to  be  preferred  to 

^  a  sufficient  subsistance  obtained  bv  honest 

.  •• 


labor.  (Generally  men  are  tramps,  beg¬ 


gars  and  paupers,  because  they  cannot 
Ind])  it.  Few,  (and  these  are  cheats),  find 
sufficient  su])i)ort  in  such  a  life. 

But,  Political  Economv  doubtinglv  asks, 
where  will  society  derive  the  funds  which 
would  be  re([uired  to  create  these  Poly¬ 
technic  'J'ownships  ? 


I 


From  sew  ral  resources,  Social  Econ¬ 
omy  replies.  A  great  part  of  the  amount 
necessarv  for  beginning  is  alreadv  avail- 
able.  That  ]iorti«‘u  r  f  th.e  Public  Charity 
Fund  now  used  to  relieve  able  bodied 
paupers  might  be  taken  at  once.  Work- 


The  (kight  to  Labor  and  Live. 


1- 


bouses,  poor  houses,  soupliouses,  night  re¬ 
fuges,  and  the  like,  would  become  useless, 
and  the  large  sums  expended  aunuall}^  to 
support  them  without  return,  would  pay 
for  building  and  furnishiug  Polytechnic 
Towuships.  If  this  did  not  suffice,  well 
then,  let  the  rest  be  raised  by  taxation.  It 
is  from  taxation  that  society  has  hereto- 
fore  drawn  all  the  funds  she  has  ever  ap¬ 
propriated  to  develop  the  general  welfare. 
From  taxation,  millions  upon  millions  are 
derived  to  subsidize  rail-roads,  and  lines 
of  steamships,  improve  rivers  and  har¬ 
bours,  build  school-houses,  forts,  and  peni¬ 
tentiaries,  endow  science  or  art  and  make 
war. 

Now,  wherein  do  the  merits  of  these  sur¬ 
pass  the  securing  of  free,  productive  and 
remunerative  labor  to  every  one  of  the 
people?  Can  there  be  a  matter  of  greater 
general  interest  than  this?  The  first 
Polytechnic  Township  may  be  made  to 
reimburse  the  expense  of  its  own  creation. 
This  it  could  do  by  easy  instalments  with¬ 
out  the  burden  of  interest 5  and  afterwards 
it  would  be  made  to  pay  its  proper  propor¬ 
tion  of  general  taxes.  The  amount  re¬ 
imbursed  by  the  first  township  should 
be  applied  to  building  and  furnishing  a 
new  one  like  itself ;  this  one  should  also 
reimburse  its  own  cost,  which  should  be 
used  to  erect  a  third,  and  so  on  without 
limit.  Thus  the  original  advance  made  by 
society  would  serve  many  times  over  and 
over. 

But,  objects  Political  Economy,  the 
amount  required  in  the  beginning  would  be 
enormous. 

Well,  rei)lies  Social  Economjq  even 
were  it  so,  society  must  do  its  bouuden 
duty,  whatever  may  be  the  cost;  but  it  is 
false  to  pretend  that  the  amount  of  the 
necessary  advances  would  be  enormous. 
Two  millions  of  dollars  would,  including 
the  price  of  land,  l)e  enough  to  build  and 


furnish  a  township  for  a  population  of  ten 
thousand.  Compare  this  with  the  unre- 
productive  expenses  of  a  large  army  and 
short  war;  or  even  with  the  cost  of  a  single 
iron  clad  ship,  and  decide  which  outlay 
should  be  most  cheerfully  incurred. 

But,  says  Political  Economy,  what 
mighty  means  of  fraud,  corruption,  em¬ 
bezzlement  and  o])pression,  would  this 
movement  furnish  to  the  State  officers  and 
agents  having  charge  of  it. 

Far  be  it  from  me,  answers  Social 
Economy,  to  propose  that  the  State  should 
be  the  sole  founder,  or  that  having  founded 
she  should  retain  ownership  and  controL 
She  should  make  her  advances  under  the 
well  defined  right  of  inspection  and  verifi¬ 
cation  by  committees  of  the  original  co- 
operators  :  those  who  would  subsequently 
be  obliged  to  reimburse  the  cost  from  their  % 
own  hard  work.  The  establishment,  when 
completed,  would  be  delivered  to  them,  and 
they  would  be  independent  in  its  adminis^ 
tration.  The  relation  of  the  government 
towards  them  would,  as  regards  the  pro¬ 
perty,  be  only  that  of  a  creditor,  with  the 
right  to  interfere  by  foreclosure  in  case  of 
a  violation  of  the  conditions  of  the  trans¬ 
fer,  or  failure  to  repay  the  original  cost.  I 
am  individualistic  as  far  as  possible  in 
every  way  not  practically  subversive  of 
the  principle  of  the-Average-Labor-Time- 
Standard-of-Exchangeable- Value. 

But,  says  Political  Economy,  when  you 
say  that  society  is  bound  to  furnish  labor 
to  those  who  cannot  obtain  it  through 
private  enterprise,  you  add  words  implying 
that  private  enterprise,  shall  bring  or  pay 
to  labor  an  adequate  reward.  Would  yon 
encourage  strikers  and  insure  their  suc¬ 
cess?  Would  you  have  society  take  sides 
with  strikers?  Would  you  hold  society 
responsible  for  fluctuations  in  the  rate  of 
wages? 

Of  course  1  would,  answers  Social 


s 


61790876 


The  (kight  to  Labor 


30112 

afuaruvoe:  ~ 


Economy;  for  it  is  not  merelj^  to  secure 
star^'ation  wages  that  the  Polytechnic 
Township  is  devised;  but  in  order  that 
manful  labor  shall  have  a  manful  reward, 
— a  reward  fit  for  a  human  being, — a  re¬ 
ward  suited  to  a  moral  and  intellectual  na¬ 
ture,  ratlnr  than  to  that  of  a  beast  of 
burden.  It  is  to  renew  himself  morally 
and  intellectually,  as  well  as  physically, 
with  the  hope  of  progressing  toward  the 
enjoyment  of  every  thing  his  perfect  nature 
requires,  that  man  has  recourse  to  toil.  ^Tt 
is  written :  not  on  bread  alone  doth  man 
live,  but  every  word  that  proceedeth  from 
the  mouth  of  God.”  To  withold  this 
heaven-prescribed  reward,  is  the  same,  in 
effect,  as  to  refuse  the  right  to  labor  itself. 
To  say  that  the  one  did  not  imply  the  other 
would  be  derisive.  If  a  man's  labor  pro¬ 
duces  what  is  requisite  for  the  nurture  of 
these  three,  body,  intellect  and  morality, 
he  should  enjoy  that  nurture;  for  it  is  the 
sweat  of  his  own  brow.  To  deprive  him 
of  any  part  of  it  is  a  grievous  wrong,  con¬ 
demned  bv  the  word  of  God;  and  societv, 
by  making  private  offers-  of  pitiful  wages 
the  reason  for  refusing  fully  restorative 
toil,  would  practically  defeat  the  right  to 
labor  and  live.  Away  with  such  deceitful 
pretexts. 

But,  persisting  Political  Economy  re¬ 
marks,  evidently  the  projector’s  idea  of 
providing  employment  and  support  for 
those  who  are  now  unwillingly  idle,  is  a 
transitory  or  incidental  pretext.  Evidently 
it  is  expected  that  the  movement,  so  li¬ 
mited  and  special  at  first,  would,  by 
gradual  extension,  absorb  all  labor,  all 
commerce  and  trade,  and  develop  an 
economic  order  entirely  new;  in  one  word, 
change  the  face  of  the  world. 

Certainly,  replies  Social  Economy,  I 
said  so  at  the  outset.  Such  indeed,  is  the 
main  purpose  of  the  plan,  and  such  no 
doubt  would  be  the  result,  if  it  were 


fairly  carried  out.  It  would  be  a  six  hour 
movement;  and,  notwithstanding  such  a 
shortening  of  the  hours  of  labor,  an  anti- 
usurv  movement;  for  it  would  root  out 
profit  and  other  causes  of  usury.  It  would 
of  its  own  force  and  effect  put  a  stop  to  the 
gouging  of  labor  by  enterprisers  and  com¬ 
mercial  speculators ;  and  therefore  capital, 
yielding  no  selfcreative  increase,  would  be 
worth  itself,  dollar  for  dollar ;  ‘‘only  that, 
and  nothing  more.”  It  would  leave  the 
people  leisure,  in  the  midst  of  plenty,  to 
gain  knowledge,  to  satisfy  religious  con¬ 
victions,  and  to  gratify  athletic,  recreative 
and  esthetic  tastes.  It  is  the  grandest 
and  most  leasable  plan  of  peaceful  and 
progressive  revolution,  in  the  interest  of 
the  toilers,  that  can,  under  present  cir¬ 
cumstances,  be  divised.  Oh  !  how  beau¬ 
tiful  would  the  world  be,  if  this  one  thing 
of  securing  labor  and  its  fall  reward  to  all 
men,  were  once  realized.  The  master  en¬ 
terprisers  and  appropriators  fear  it  with  a 
livid  fear,  hate  it  with  a  crimson  rage, 
resist  it  by  desperate  efforts,  and  predict 
that  extraordinary  evils  would  flow  from 
it.  But  Oh !  it  should  be  the  ideal  of  the 
toiler Sj  the  polar  star  of  their  efforts,  the 
anchor  of  their  hope.  In  their  party  plat¬ 
forms,  at  the  ballot  box,  and  from  the  le¬ 
gislature  they  should  demand  its  establish¬ 
ment.  It  is  par-excellence  the  initial 
scheme  of  their  industrial  salvation,  and 
the  forecast  of  their  moral,  their  religious, 
and  their  intellectual  elevation.  It  is 
pregnant  with  all  desired  relief,  full  of  the 
seed  of  happiness.  At  the  same  time  it 
exacts  only  justice ;  for  it  only  proposes  to 
society  to  fulfil  at  once  the  duty  she  owes 
to  all  those  who  being  unemployed,  are 
nevertheless  willing  to  earn  an  honest 
living  by  their  labor.  Come  let  us  “go  for 
it”  all  together,  in  solid  and  unanimous 
array. 

V 


T.  Wearton  Collexs. 


